Top 5 Contenders For Next Leeds United Manager

08 April 2013 04:09

Leeds United are on the hunt for a new manager and here, we take a look at the five candidates leading the way. There are also some interesting words from departing boss Neil Warnock!

1) Brian McDermott

Mentioned from the very beginning, former Reading boss Brian McDermott appears to be the front runners. Harshly sacked by the Royals last month, he is keen to get back into football straight away.

McDermott does have recent pedigree of getting a team out of the Championship, but can he succeed away from Reading? This was a club he knew inside out and the jury is out on how he would do elsewhere.

2) Gus Poyet

Linked with a number of vacant manager positions this season, the Brighton boss is definitely destined for good things according to many.

Some Chelsea fans even want him at Stamford Bridge and this shows what some believe he is capable of. However, he turned down the Reading job, so would he really go to Leeds?

Perhaps if Brighton fail to go up, he might find the lure of Elland Road tempting.

3) Martin O’Neill

Recently out of work having left Sunderland, it is unclear what Martin O’Neill wants to do next. Does he want the challenge of Leeds United? Or is he waiting for another Premier League job?

The former Leicester boss would certainly be a popular choice among the fans, but only if O’Neill wants the job and is in it for the long haul.

4) Owen Coyle

Since leaving Bolton where he had a mixed time of it, Owen Coyle has yet to find another job and he is in danger of being a manager that has left it too long before returning to football.

Coyle has won promotion with Burnley before, but is he the right man for Leeds? Currently one of the front runners, he would certainly be keen to have talks.

5) Mark Hughes

Does anyone remember a job that Mark Hughes wasn’t linked with? Well, as you might expect, his name is in the hat for the Leeds job, a few months after leaving Queens Park Rangers.

In truth, the Welshman has had a difficult time of it in recent years and probably regrets leaving Fulham due to their ‘lack of ambition’.

Hughes succeeded Warnock at QPR of course and the former Leeds boss has had something to say about the possibility of this happening again.

Warnock said: “I personally hope Mark Hughes follows me again and destroys another team of mine.”